Charles Ofori Antipem and KSM
Charles Ofori Antipem, a 26-year-old entrepreneur who is on a mission to not just make the subject of science practical and easy to understand but fun as well, is one of the heroes on the 2019 MTN Heroes change reality show.
Charles Ofori Antipem is just like every student who goes through the Ghanaian educational system, learns the subject of science from drawings and pictures, if lucky from an ill-equipped science laboratory, right from Class One to sometimes the university without much practice.
Majority of these people move onto other fields and pursue different dreams to the neglect of science they studied. But Charles has, over the years, taken it upon himself to change the story for young science students.
He is currently changing the science story in classrooms with the creation of ‘science set’ or mobile laboratory which can be compared to mathematical set to assist students.
From his base in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital, Charles and his young team have so far impacted 22,000 pupils who have experienced what they are taught.
The project has also seen 550 teachers trained, 370 school reached, 11 people employed, and 10 businesses directly benefitting from this project because everything about the set is manufactured right here in Ghana.
“I used to teach when school was on vacation. This was when I was in university. Whenever I was in class to teach the pupils, I noticed most of them were not interested in science at all. This was because it was taught in abstract. Everything was shown in drawing or pictures. Science is a practical subject and so when you get the chance to practice what you are taught; one appreciates it better. This is the reason why I started a research on how I could solve this problem,” he stated.
His science set has transformed the way of teaching and learning in science, increased the interest in the study of science in pupils, has also helped bring out the creativity in pupils who want to be in science and now making the science laboratory accessible to every child.
Even though he is facing a hurdle in trying to introduce his innovation into the educational system, Charles hopes to employ more workers under this project and be able to sell and reach about 20,000 pupils this year and each year.
Charles is currently among a number of persons in the society who are engaging in projects from health, education and economic to empower their communities.